River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-05-05
THE YELLOWSTONE.


whole truth about the Yellowstone, and
TO acknowledge that while the great
Park contains certainly the seven won
dtrs of the world in natural magniii
eeaee. the great spaces between these
different wonders are immense diStan-
ces of utterly uninteresting scenery,
which one trayerses over roads covered
with white binding dust which i.
very nearly intolerable. 1t is true that
the hot springs, and the geysers. and
the Paint Pots. and the falls, and the
canon, and the lake. and the many-col-
ored pools, are worth any amount o.
trouble in getting to them; but it i.
also true that hey are worth taking any
amount of trouble TO lessen the trouble
and since il could all be removed by 81
simple thing as 4 few rails and q
locomotive, it is certainly pity that &
state of things should be left existing
which prevents the very young, the
very old. the very fastidious or the very
veal. from enjoying the real wonder,
of such a journey.
In the mean time. however, there /,
no railway, and our friends. as the next
best thing would hire special teams and
camp ont.
Joseph was pressed into service as &
guide. 1t was very cool in the CORR
doris of The hotel. but a single step from
the piazza proved their light satteeu
travelling dresses more comfortable than
the blue flannel gowns still waiting for
the rcputed frost of the Yellowstone.
ColOred glasses were necessary to shield
the owes from the intense glare in the
sunlight Of the snowy terraces. drop
ping one after another for two miles
from the dark pine woods above and
around them. like a series Of beautiful
frozen cascades.
Il notice there IS only one man who
has the courage for figures, said the
Man of sense. referring to his guide
books ~ they crossed the white plateau
at the base OF the extinct springs, and
paused al the foot of Old Liberty Cap.
the cone of an extinct geyscr. towering
fifty feet into the air. HE seems to
know al about it, and declares that il
took Just iifty-four centuries to build up
this thing.
lean tellyoH who he is, said the know
ing Joseph. with a laugh. lies the
man that tells you the Billing River
puts fifty thousand barrels of hot water
into the Gardiner every twenty-four
hours. I've often told him he opghter
have let u know when he was going
to measure it.
ANY estimate of the ace of the
lower terrace would be purely coniec-
tural. read the Man Of Sense from
another guide-book ..Still, | suppose
there is 10 doubt about its being Il
matter of centuries. In that case. how
soon do tley expect to finish repairing
the Devils Thumb"
For they had walked over to the
smaller column, which was not only ex-
tinct. but crumbIing with age and de
/ crepitudc. Art was cndeavoring Ia
assist nature, and repair the waste by
bringing water from the hot springs
( Just above in wooden troughs, letting
it ;rickle down the sides Of the cone and
evaporate. to leave its snowy deposit
to repair the rayages of time.
We'll, that Teller that knows 81
much about the fgGers,' explained
Joseph. says the Orange Geyser build,
foot in century And he says the
hot springs viii deposit sixteenth Of
an inch in four days. All | know
about it i that | can put :, beer bottle
under some of the falling water, and
turn Il round once or twice, and have II
/ beautifully coated over. with a white
crust that won't crumble, in day OF
two.
Question; if you can coat beef
bottle in day or two. how long viii il
take to build a gcyser cone? Come
Mabel. you We're last at Your books.
"Fifty-four centuries, answered the
Maiden. promptly.
Correct. You may 20 up TO the
head" and the Impcrturablc pointed t.
tie upper terrace towering above them.
Ii was not ut all steep climb, but
they had to Ec wary about stepping in
to the little rills of hot water trickling
down from the upper springs.
..What is that dust?' exclaimed tho
Convert. suddenly. Il never saw dusl
rising from ice before.
"Wcll, marin. said the smiling
Joseph, lin the first place. faint dust
and in the next place faint ice. The
( dust is steam, and the ice is formation.
I "Of course said the Convert. u
ought TO have known. But I cant
diveSt myself of the idea that ali thi,
white rock j. arctic snow
"Wcll. / don't know. said the I'm.
perturbablc; .this isn't exactly what
should call arctic
He had been, with the Maiden. the
/ first to reach the top. and was gazing
into the depths Of the first of the Nam
moth Hot Springs. The wind had
blown toward him sudden Whit of th,
I hot sUlphurous steam. and he had step
7 ped back quickly, only to find that he
+ had stumbled into one of the iunoceut
I looking riils, that was decidedly warm
even through his boot
But what a magnificent sight il was
+ The whole snowy mass chat had looked
cold and silent under the pale moon
the night before was now glowing
cleaning. pulsating with life under IN,
morning sun. For perhaps a hundre,
acres the white surface was studded
with brilliant pools, set like jewels
clear ~ diamonds, lovelier in color
+. than opals in rims of frctted frost del
ieate rs lace aGd as firm As marble
Over these coralline edges tricklei
softly the gentle overflow q the lovely
lakes. falling. falling, trema
lousy and without a sound. over tn,
fiutet reed-liko columns of the terraces
below. only to leave them harder thar
they were before.
..Isn't Il incredible. said the Man o
Sense. -.ihat water 80 particularly cleal
should hold anything IN solution 10 par
Il d0n-i <noV n'srur<e.l the iH1
|perlurbsbIc dfean,iI tsLzs Ea AN